This article shall be known as the "Economic
Development Committee Ordinance of the Borough of Oceanport."
There is hereby established and created a local
economic development committee to be known as the "Economic Development
Committee of the Borough of Oceanport."
[Amended 4-5-1984 by Ord. No. 483; 8-17-2006 by Ord. No.
816]
The Economic Development Committee of the Borough
of Oceanport shall be composed of 12 members. One of the members of
the Committee shall be the President of the Board of Education or
his/her designee from the Board of Education. The remaining 11 members
shall be nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the vote of Council
at its reorganization meeting or as is necessary by the event of a
vacancy.
[Amended 4-5-1984 by Ord. No. 483; 8-17-2006 by Ord. No.
816]
The 11 members (not the Board of Education member)
shall serve for a term of three years or until their successors are
appointed and qualified. Vacancies in the membership of the Committee,
regardless of cause, shall be filled by an appointment by the Mayor,
confirmed by the vote of Council, for the unexpired term thereof.
[Amended 11-15-1984 by Ord. No. 496]
Any member of said Economic Development Committee
may be removed from his or her office for cause after an opportunity
has been given for a hearing and upon the vote of a majority of the
Council. Furthermore, any member who shall have missed three consecutive
Committee meetings or a total of four Committee meetings during any
one calendar year shall be deemed to have forfeited his or her office,
and the resulting vacancy shall thereafter be filled in the manner
as hereinabove provided.
Each member shall be chosen with a special view
to his qualifications and fitness for service on the Committee. In
general and whenever possible, members shall be appointed on the basis
of their experience in business or industry, and their vocational
backgrounds shall be such as to render them particularly suitable
for planning the development of available land resources for commercial
or industrial purposes.
Each member of the Committee shall, before assuming
office, take and subscribe an oath that he will faithfully and impartially
discharge the duties of his office.
The members and officers of the Committee shall
serve without compensation.
The members of the Committee shall choose annually
from among its members a Chairman or President and such other officers
as it may deem necessary. The Mayor and one member of the Borough
Council, appointed annually by the Council, shall be ex officio members
of the Committee without voting privileges.
A majority of the members shall constitute a
quorum of the Committee.
Insofar as may be practicable, the employees
and assistants required by the Committee shall be recruited from the
public officers and employees of the Borough. The Borough Attorney
shall be counsel to the Committee. The Borough Engineer shall be the
engineer of the Committee, and the several departments of the Borough
government shall be available to the Committee for the purpose of
the Committee's business. Borough employees servicing the Committee
shall do so without compensation other than their regular compensation
as employees of the Borough. The Committee shall, from time to time,
make known to the Mayor its wants in the nature of services by employees,
and the Mayor and Council shall designate which of the employees,
if any, shall render such service.
To effectuate its purposes, the Committee shall
have the following powers and duties:
A. Make and cause to be made an exhaustive study of available
commercial and industrial sites, to give wide publicity to the advantages
thereof, that the early improvement, development and productive use
thereof shall be accomplished.
B. Serve as a clearing house in connection with problems
affecting the business, industry and commerce of the Borough.
C. Provide for and encourage the development and expansion
of local trade and industry.
D. Promote the location of new business and industry
and the expansion of now existing business and industry.
E. Maintain a study of local business and trade conditions,
collecting data and disseminating information for existing business
and industrial use and for the promotion of new business and industry.
F. Publicize the trade conveniences as to the location
of the Borough, its rail, water and highway conveniences, its economic
advantages and other pertinent factors which make the Borough a desirable
location for trade and industry.
G. Collect information and compile and distribute material
dealing with business and trade and the advantages and attractions
of the Borough for trade and industry.
H. Compile information concerning the availability of
county, state and federal funds and grants-in-aid.
I. Collect and distribute information and publicize the
historic and scenic places and points of interest in the local area
and cooperate with local organizations and businesses, industrial
and commercial, and also civic, fraternal and other associations cooperating
in planning for business and industry meetings and publicizing the
business, industrial and commercial advantages of the Borough.
J. Provide necessary liaison between the Mayor, the Borough
Council and the Planning Board.
The Committee shall make semiannual reports
to the Borough Council, setting forth in detail its operations, transactions
and accomplishments for the preceding six months.